Shu Han Hsu Research

Research

The aim of my project is to make patterns on self-assembled monolayer with molecular dimensions, combining selective covalent linking of neighbouring molecules and soft lithography, and using the molecular patterns as templates for alignment of single entities. The main challenge in nanotechnology resides in the precise spatial (self-) organization of nanoscale components onto surfaces, for nano-fabrication, -electronics, -photonics and other -applications. For these applications, the precise control over the position and orientation of the nanocomponents on the surface is required. Attractive surfaces for nanopatterning are self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Within this project we will try to fabricate single molecular patterns at molecular scale (~1 nm), by reactions occurring in the borderline area between two differently functionalized parts of the surface. These neighbouring molecules react to produce a pattern with different chemical functionality along the boundary with single molecule width. These chemically different domains are then addressed with different molecules, for example to position single molecules via host-guest interactions on receptor molecules attached to this domain (e.g. molecular printboards).